Main set: The District Sleeps Alone Tonight / We Will Become Silhouettes / Sleeping In / Turn Around / Nothing Better / Recycled Air / Be Still My Heart / Clark Gable / Our Secret (Beat Happening cover) / This Place is a Prison / There's Never Enough Time / A Tattered Line of String / Such Great Heights / Natural Anthem

The Postal Service was always intended as a short-lived project: one massively well-received album of 10 songs in 2003 – the minimalist Give Up, Sub Pop Records' speediest seller since Nirvana's 1989 debut Bleach – followed by one very brief tour, then disbandment by 2005.

So when chief vocalist Ben Gibbard (better known as Death Cab for Cutie's frontman) addressed Tuesday evening's capacity crowd at L.A.'s Greek Theatre – "Thanks for coming to hear us play all of these songs 10 years later ... it's amazing that they still mean something to you guys" – my inner response was a resounding "duh."

That's because this long-desired reunion – which replays Wednesday at the outdoor L.A. venue, with sissy bounce star Big Freedia replaced by indie supergroup Divine Fits as opening act alongside show-starter Baths – expertly re-creates one of the most important albums for a generation of 35-and-under fans in galvanizing fashion.

Remarkably, this revival makes Gibbard's digitized tales of heartache and alienation, hard-bitten despair but also renewed hope, all sound more relevant than ever. Tuesday's manifestation, featuring original soundscaper Jimmy Tamborello on live production and singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis (formerly of Rilo Kiley) on virtually everything else, felt as fresh as any of the countless electronic-influenced acts of the past few years; Give Up remains so ahead of its time that at the Greek it sounded as if it had just come out that morning.

Add to such au courant enthusiasm plenty of pent-up anticipation on the part of those who missed April's pair of Coachella sets – special appearances that evoked similar but even more widespread and awestruck responses – and the result was an audience gushing with love that visibly energized the headliners.

The band "formed" in 2001 when Gibbard lent vocals to the song "(This is) The Dream of Evan and Chan" for Tamborello's album Life Is Full of Possibilities, recorded under his DJ/producer pseudonym Dntel. That successful collaboration led to months of snail-mailing rough tracks back and forth, the two artists occasionally mixing in backing vocals from Lewis. (The unusual, transient nature of the process explains why Gibbard has made a habit since Coachella of introducing the group as one that "doesn't exist" or comes "from nowhere," as he noted Tuesday.)

Clearly advanced in terms of mixing subtly compelling electronica with emotive rock melodies, the recording itself, down-tempo and ambient throughout, seemed somewhat sleepy upon arrival. At the Greek, however, those innovative techniques came to life in ways that were more often wonderfully animated and dynamic.

Songs like "We Will Become Silhouettes," "Clark Gable," "Nothing Better" (dedicated to those who "had their hearts broken in Los Angeles") and the hit "Such Great Heights" – an influential indie-pop staple that also wound up in television commercials – showcased Lewis' and Gibbard's diverse talents and penchant for hearty hooks. Each player switched seamlessly between pretty guitar or synth lines, heavenly harmonies (further abetted by touring member Laura Burhenn of Omaha group the Mynabirds) and percussive jams that often concluded with Death Cab's stand-up star sitting down to rock out behind a small drum kit without missing a vocal cue.

Extras released earlier this year on the deluxe anniversary edition of Give Up highlighted Lewis in particular. Her soothing vocals took precedence on the kinetic jump from "Turn Around" to "A Tattered Line of String," soaring sweetly over some of Tamborello's heaviest experimental beats, ranging in style from the erratic grooves of Radiohead's Kid A to more traditional house and drum-and-bass breakdowns.

Those EDM-infused effects – enhanced by a flashy yet linear visual display one might see at a Bassnectar gig – became explosive during the main-set closer, "Natural Anthem," a cacophony of searing guitars, chaotic polyrhythms and rapid-fire red lasers that gave way to some of Gibbard's most pleasantly impassioned vocals.

The set list itself deftly encompassed all the requisite high points. Bookending the performance with the album's opening and closing cuts created a familiar coherence that likely enhanced fans' nostalgia, while the inclusion of the group's genesis song, "(This is) The Dream of Evan and Chan," as the encore-starter was a savvy nod to this tour's full-circle effect.

Building off that tune's deep-toned, electro-industrial conclusion, the final cut, "Brand New Colony," was delivered stripped down to bursts of Tamborello's sparsest, clubbiest beats – the sort that comprised the original recordings – as Lewis and Gibbard added their signature emo-pop harmonies center-stage. It was so simple, yet came with abundant bombast that undoubtedly will still sound progressive (and mend broken hearts) for years to come.

The Postal Service's Jenny Lewis and Ben Gibbard join Jimmy Tamborello at center stage during the band's Greek Theatre show in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
The Postal Service's Ben Gibbard performs at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
The Postal Service's Jenny Lewis performs at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
The Postal Service played the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Nancy Mares, left, and Vanessa Winn enjoy the scene at Tuesday's Postal Service's show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
From left: Brenda, Emily, Melissa, Alejandro and Anais hang out at the Greek Theatre before Tuesday's Postal Service's show in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Big Freedia, star of hip-hop subgenre sissy bounce, opened for the Postal Service Tuesday night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Big Freedia opened for the Postal Service Tuesday night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Anaheim residents Janelle Miranda, left, and Briana Miller hang out with Ricardo Aguilar at the coloring revolution booth at the Greek Theatre before Tuesday's Postal Service's show in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Postal Service fans wait for Tuesday's Greek Theatre show to begin. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
The Postal Service's Jenny Lewis performs at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
The Postal Service's Ben Gibbard performs at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
The Postal Service's Jenny Lewis and Jimmy Tamborello perform at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Laura Burhenn plays keyboards with the Postal Service at the Greek Theatre on Tuesday in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Janeth Leon brought her brother Joey Leon to Tuesday's Postal Service show at the Greek Theatre to celebrate his 27th birthday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Baths was the first of two openers for the Postal Service Tuesday night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Baths was the first of two openers for the Postal Service Tuesday night at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Jovan Maldanado, left, and Karla Arreola arrive for Tuesday's Postal Service's show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
The Postal Service's Jenny Lewis performs at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
The Postal Service's Jenny Lewis and Ben Gibbard join Jimmy Tamborello at center stage during the band's Greek Theatre show in Los Angeles on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

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